Cloud

Saint Cloud, or Clodoald, (522-560) was a pre-Schism French saint of noble parentage. He became a hermit and founded the monastery at Nogent-Sur-Seine near Paris.

Life

St. Cloud was born in 522 to a life of nobility. His grandfather was King Clovis the First, one of the most important figures in Frankish history. When his father was killed in battle in 524 he and his brothers were brought up by their grandmother St. Clotilde (June 3). His brothers were murdered by their uncles Childebert and Clotaire to prevent them from succeeding to the Frankish throne.

St. Cloud escaped, renounced any claim to the throne, and became a monk under the protection of St. Severnius of Noricum, another important saint in the early Latin Church of the West. He lived as a hermit for 11 years, studying the Scriptures and receiving visitors who sought his wisdom and healing powers. He was at first troubled by being so close to Paris, where he was well-known, so he withdrew to Provence. At length, recognizing that a life of blessed solitude was not what God had in His plans, St. Cloud returned to Paris. At the earnest request of the people he was ordainedpriest by Bishop Eusebius of Paris, in 551, and served that church for some time. He then became an abbot of a monastery in Norgent-Sur-Seine, near Paris. He diligently gave away his goods and taught those near Nogent. Saint Cloud went into repose in 560; his feast day is on September 7. His relics remain in the village church.

He is the patron saint of St. Cloud, Minnesota; those suffering from a particular skin disorder; and nailmakers. In church iconography he would be shown in monastic robes, sometimes instructing the poor or offering his hood to a less fortunate person.